Coccidioidomycosis

Coccidioidomycosis, also called San Joaquin fever or Valley fever, an infectious disease caused by inhalation of spores of the fungusCoccidioides immitis. C. immitis can be found in the soil, and most infections occur during dry spells in semiarid regions of the southwestern United States, especially around the San Joaquin Valley, and in the Chaco region of Argentina; dust storms have caused outbreaks of the infection in humans.

Photomicrograph of spherules of Coccidioides immitis, the causative agent of …

Coccidioidomycosis may be benign and self-limiting, or it may be progressive, spreading throughout the body. In about 50 percent of the cases of benign coccidioidomycosis there are no symptoms. When symptoms occur, they resemble symptoms of influenza or pneumonia: fever, chills, headache, severe pain in the joints, chest pain, and coughing. In a few instances after recovery there are solid lesions or cavities in the lungs. Disseminated coccidioidomycosis, or coccidioidal granuloma, is a progressive form of infection that can result in skin ulcers, many nodules or cavities in the lungs, widespread involvement of lymph nodes, lesions of the bones, and osteomyelitis (infection of the bone). Meningitis is usually the immediate cause of death.

Learn More in these related articles:

a chronic fungal infection of humans caused by Cryptococcocus neoformans and C. bacillispora. The organism may be present in soil or dust and is often found in pigeon droppings, with resulting high concentrations on window ledges and around other nesting places. How humans become infected is not...

any of about 99,000 known species of organisms of the kingdom Fungi, which includes the yeasts, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms. There are also many funguslike organisms, including slime molds and oomycetes (water molds), that do not belong to kingdom Fungi but are often called fungi....

an acute viral infection of the upper or lower respiratory tract that is marked by fever, chills, and a generalized feeling of weakness and pain in the muscles, together with varying degrees of soreness in the head and abdomen.